IIB 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5890 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 14, 2018 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of Health and Human Services 

to provide assistance to States in complying with, and 

implementing, certain provisions of section 106 of the 

Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act in order 

to promote better protections for young children and 

family-centered responses, and for other purposes. 


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HR 5890 RFS

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Assisting States’ Im5 plementation of Plans of Safe Care Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. ASSISTING STATES WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF 

7 PLANS OF SAFE CARE. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Health and 

9 Human Services shall provide written guidance and, if ap10 propriate, technical assistance to support States in com11 plying with, and implementing, subsections (b)(2)(B)(iii) 

12 and (d)(18) of section 106 of the Child Abuse Prevention 

13 and Treatment Act (42 U.S.C. 5106a) in order to promote 

14 better protections for young children and family-centered 

15 responses. 

16 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The guidance and technical as17 sistance shall— 

18 (1) enhance States’ understanding of require19 ments and flexibilities under the law, including clari20 fying key terms; 

21 (2) address State-identified challenges with de22 veloping, implementing, and monitoring plans of safe 

23 care; 

24 (3) disseminate best practices related to devel25 oping and implementing plans of safe care, including 


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HR 5890 RFS

1 differential response, collaboration and coordination, 

2 and identification and delivery of services, while rec3 ognizing needs of different populations and varying 

4 community approaches across States; 

5 (4) support collaboration between health care 

6 providers, social service agencies, public health agen7 cies, and the child welfare system, to promote a fam8 ily-centered treatment approach; 

9 (5) prevent separation and support reunifica10 tion of families if in the best interests of the child; 

11 (6) recommend treatment approaches for serv12 ing infants, pregnant women, and postpartum 

13 women whose infants may be affected by substance 

14 use that are designed to keep infants with their 

15 mothers and families whenever appropriate, includ16 ing recommendations to encourage pregnant women 

17 to receive health and other support services during 

18 pregnancy; 

19 (7) support State efforts to develop technology 

20 systems to manage and monitor implementation of 

21 plans of safe care; and 

22 (8) help States improve the long-term safety 

23 and well-being of young children and their families. 

24 (c) CONSTRUCTION.—The guidance and technical as25 sistance shall not be construed to amend the requirements 


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HR 5890 RFS

1 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 

2 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.). 

3 (d) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this section, the 

4 term ‘‘State’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

5 3 of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (42 

6 U.S.C. 5101 note). 

Passed the House of Representatives June 13, 2018. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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